Mark 9:35 English Standard Version (ESV) And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Mark 9:35 King James Version (ESV) And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

These are the words of Jesus to His disciples. The words were from teacher to student. The ESV version makes it sound like teacher and student. The KJV sounds more like the servant of God to those who are being trained to serve.

There is another way to hear Mark 9:25 today that is not included in how it sounded back then.

Jesus is Lord sitting on the throne of heaven. As Lord He has the power to make things happen because He has the power to control all things. Here is another way to hear what the Spirit says to us on a personal level.

“If the desire of your heart is to be selfish, I will put you at the end of the line until your heart changes.”

We don’t see ourselves as being selfish until we are shown to be selfish. We are experienced with lying to ourselves to make ourselves feel better.

God will not put up with a liar, even if we are just lying to ourselves.

Psalm 37:4 English Standard Version (ESV) Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

If the desire of our heart is the Lord, He will give us the Lord.

If the desire of our heart is selfish, we will find ourselves alone at the end of a very long line.

Galatians 5:22 English Standard Version (ESV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

This version translates the Greek word pistis as faithfulness where some other translations simply us the word faith.

Given that we cannot have the fruits of the spirit produced in us until we have placed the faith we have in Christ, then this pisis is different than the one used in Acts 24:24 “faith in Christ”. That bible usage is faith as a conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it. BLB.ORG

Key to the understanding of what faith is and what faith does is found in these three simple words: “joined with it”. We are in Christ and Christ is in us. Our faith and His faithfulness are joined together in what can be best described as a cooperative effort. He is our Lord and calls us to obey from a standpoint of this loving relationship.

Perhaps rather than faith or even faithfulness, our understanding of this pistis might be obedience of faith.

Hebrews 4:2 English Standard Version (ESV) For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

Faith is a unifying force. To gain any benefit out of the Word of God there has to be this marriage of the mind, soul and body to Christ that is born of love and faith. This is why we are described as the bride of Christ, a bonding, a joining, our faith united together.

Ephesians 4:4-6 English Standard Version

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Faith joined together.